Chapter 18

Board to the head.

When it finally does come, it can't really be said that Albus was ready for it. A rainy Tuesday at the end of October leads to an evening meeting of the school board that he has been asked, rather forcefully, to attend.

Walking into the rented room in the Three Broomsticks pub he is greeted by not only the ten members of the current Hogwarts school board, but also Amelia Bones, Sirius Black, and both Harry Potter and that insufferable little bint that he has been cozy with since June.

The last five months have been one disaster for him after another, starting with Potter going missing, and Gringotts losing it's mind over a little bit of mail forwarding. Then all of the carefully built political and personal secrets of the last twenty years getting put on display for the world to see.

He might have been able to gloss over much of this had not Barty Crouch proven to be such a whiny little shit about things. At the first hint that he had been found out, he rolled over and told them everything. Then he did it again under veritaserum and in front of the entire Wizengamot. Needless to say that it is difficult to hide complicity with vague answers when those asking the questions already know all the details.

One thing led to another, and then when he should have finally begun to get some control of the situation due to Harry Potter once again being under his thumb and in the school, it turns out that the little shite not only recognized what being the heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin meant, but he was more than happy to use and abuse the power it gave him. Albus' mind once again for the thousandth time since the start of September cringes at the thought of this veritable clone of Tom Riddle being in control of the wards for the school. The only thing that makes Albus not simply make an effort to kill the child outright is the fact that he has driven the Death Eaters from the school. So while Harry Potter may be beginning his walk down a dark path, he can't be possessed by Riddle. There is just no way that Riddle would be willing to weaken his position by destroying two of the last people he could realistically consider to be loyal followers.

Of course, he isn't the only one that has been getting the proverbial beat down. McGonagall has lost her position as Head of House Gryffindor to Babbling, of all people. Apparently having the last of the Potter's choose to be resorted caused the school board a collective panic that the rumor he might actually leave Hogwarts and study abroad had some claim to reality. Even Flitwick is no longer in as good of cheer as he might have once been. During the first week of October, nearly half the students in his house started to spontaneously grow purple birthmarks in the form of words that start high on their foreheads and began to cover their faces. THIEF, BULLY, CHEAT, PLAGIARIST, and BLACKMAILER are now scrawled on their faces in the ink of their own soul. Encouraged, Albus believes, by the school wards and keyed off of charms that Filius found on a first years trunk and school robes. The problem will eventually go away when they spend enough time outside the school, but until then fixing the problem is worthless. The wards will reapply the curse nearly as quickly s it is removed. When the diminutive charms professor had cornered Harry in exasperation in his efforts to get this removed, he was told that everyone will get a clean slate at Christmas, and that punishments next semester would be more severe.

Apparently after considering things and once again looking at the charms on young Luna with an eye to how they functioned and what they did rather than how to get rid of them, he decided that his Goblin honor could live with such a thing and left it alone.

At first Dumbledore wasn't certain why they were meeting at the Three Broomsticks. Then he remembered that three members of the school board were supposedly Ex-Death Eaters that had bought their way out of Azkaban shortly after Potter's parents were murdered. The concept that Lucius, who has been trying to get the post of Headmaster for the last ten years will now have no ability to do so does make him smile softly behind his expanse of white facial hair. As Albus walks in the door Malfoy can't help but let his smirk widen and the honeyed sarcasm fairly drips off of his tongue.

"Headmaster Dumbledore. So good of you to come to this meeting of the school board. I might have thought that you would be more inclined to be early, given the circumstances. Particularly considering the owners are also here."

Albus offers the disagreeable man the slightest of nods.

"Lucius. Pardon for believing that being on time might be sufficient. I do have a job to do, after all."

'Not for long,' Malfoy thinks as he looks around the table and sees that even the light members of the board that would have laid down their lives for the man a year ago all want him gone.

"If I could have everyone's attention. This meeting of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry board of governors is called to order. The first business to attend to is the scheduled vote of no confidence towards our current Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I could wax poetic for days as to the reasons it has come to my attention he needs to go, but rather than bother with things that might be debatable, shall we say, I want to point out the two that, by themselves, demand this action. First, he willingly and with malice influenced the line of Potter by the use of mail redirection. Second, due to this action he has drug the good name of Hogwarts through the mud so badly that Gringotts will no longer deal with our school while he remains at its head. I submit to you that it is less that we should get rid of the man, and more that we must. In spite of all the vitriol I could spew, all the irritation the man causes me, I will be the first to admit that he is powerful, brilliant, and formidable in many ways. But sadly, in light of his willingness to manipulate and steal from a noble house as well as stir up trouble with another sovereign nation, he has got to go. All in favor?"

Albus' eyes widen at this.

"Am I to be allowed no opportunity to defend myself?"

If the smile that Lucius tosses his way could be collected and bottled it could be used to clean gum off of pews, it is so toxic.

"Of course, Albus. Pull out your wand and swear a vow on your life and magic that nothing I have said is true. Any bit of it will see you sacked. If you can survive such a vow, I think we will have no choice but to allow you to stay."

"I would rather explain the circumstances in my own way, Lucius. Many of the things you are alluding to are not as damning as you seem to believe when the full story is known."

Lucius can't help but laugh.

"I know you would. But the board decided this before you arrived. The vow, now, or leave and clean out your office."

Albus looks over to Harry and Amelia in desperation. Madam Bones is the one to respond to that look.

"The vow was my idea, Headmaster Dumbledore. I wish I could say that I feel some small amount of pity for your plight now, but really all I can manage is to not vomit into my own throat that you have behaved so despicably that you have forced me to agree with Malfoy here." She turns to the pale haired man in question. "No offense, Lord Malfoy. But it isn't as though we generally see eye to eye."

Malfoy offers a slightly less enthusiastic smile.

"Little taken. So, Albus. What is it going to be?"

The silence stretches on for seemingly forever, but really was likely only a minute or two. Lucius finally smacks his little hammer on the table.

"I call for the vote. I am taking his silence as a denial."

To say that the vote was not in his favor is something of an understatement.

After the old man has been ushered out of the room, Augusta Longbottom takes the lead, the formidable old woman and her stuffed vulture hat bobbing as she nods.

"We now need a new head. Does anybody aside from myself want the job? It might have gone straight to Minerva, but with her recent difficulties that seems to be a bad idea."

Lucius raises a finger, looking at Harry and Alice for the first time that evening. Amelia and Sirius are less than impressed, going by their expressions.

"I would be interested, and I feel that I could bring much to the school. But I would first need to work out some kind of deal with the owner concerning the wards. During the last wizarding conflict I spent quite some time under the Imperius Curse, and during that time I was unfortunately fitted with a dark mark of my own. Since there appears to be no way to remove the mark, and as I have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Wizengamot, I would need the wards changed to accommodate me."

Harry and Alice look at each other. Harry is the one that speaks up.

"Sure, if you offer us a magical vow that you have never and will never while in your right, non-controlled mind, serve the half blood bastard Tom Riddle also known as Voldemort, we can see clear to making an exemption for you."

Malfoy reddens, the test to oust Dumbledore being thrown in his face was apparently not what he was expecting. His voice is level when he responds to it however. A dash of condescension does creep in, a pinch of that tone that adults use when explaining something to a particularly dense child.

"Unlike the former Headmaster, I was actually cleared of any wrongdoing. Vows being the finicky things that they are, I would prefer not to make one when there is sufficient record to exonerate me without the use of one."

Alice doesn't even bother to look at him when she responds.

"We have, currently, two applicants. Both seem to be qualified or I would assume that the other board members would let us know. One has a dark mark that requires their soul to be damaged to attain. Before Harry or I would bother considering fiddling with the wards for you such a vow would have to be made, for without it you are by definition second best. Of course, the board is welcome to vote in whom they wish. But without that vow you will be doing the job by mail."

Sirius turns to Harry.

"Why don't you just disband the board anyway, it isn't like they have been doing their jobs. Damn Cerberus in the school."

Harry shakes his head as the members of the board wince.

"Why would I want to run this train wreck? I barely want to be here at all, given all the crap I've dealt with between my first year and Dumbles. Besides, I don't think I can actually disband the board. I can make them move the school somewhere else I suppose, but the school itself is actually run by the ministry. I am really not much more than a landlord."

The board are listening in and there are a few people who are positively beaming at Harry's admission that he doesn't run the school. Alice feels the need to step on their metaphorical necks a little before they get too excited.

"A landlord with complete control of the grounds, wards, surrounding countryside for a good few miles, and between yourself and Sirius ownership of fifty six percent of the Daily Prophet. They forget these tidbits to their own peril, Harry. Though please, let me know when you reach the point of not wishing to be here. I would rather study abroad anyway. We can even pay for your friends to come as well."

Augusta Longbottom bangs her gavel for attention once. Her voice is a bit annoyed, but there is a sarcastic wit that peeks out from behind the irritation.

"Lord and Lady Potter, I haven't even technically gotten the job yet. Do me the courtesy of giving me a chance to sort things a bit before you assume I will fail, if you please. Other than Lord Malfoy, who will apparently not be getting the assignment for... personal reasons, is anybody else interested in the job?"

As the only other ones that seem to be interested are apparently in the same boat as Malfoy, her appointment goes through. As soon as it does so, Harry tosses her a parchment. After giving it a glance, she turns to Harry.

"Lord Potter, what is this?"

Harry turns to Amelia.

"This is what Madam Bones, Lord Black, Alice, and I cobbled together as a few more rules and bylaws that we will be enforcing effective immediately."

Amelia pulls out her own copy and begins reading the important bits aloud for the members of the board that do not have one.

"First, all students and staff will submit to a full medical examination at the beginning of every semester, and all student and faculty property will be gone over by curse breakers from Gringotts. If anything is found that would compromise the loyalty or safety of the student population, such as a dark mark, possession, magical mirror that ensnares the soul, or giant freaking three headed dogs, they will be asked to give up their allegiance or items, otherwise they will be forced to leave the property."

"Second, the ministry will be encouraged to have an auror presence on the castle grounds whenever they desire to, and will be asked to supply security for the above examinations. If there is anything untoward discovered, such as students that are being abused, starved, or forced to take magical vows that the ministry deems to be at odds with the magical community as a whole, the aurors on site will be asked to deal with the issue."

Bones takes a drink of her Butter Beer and continues.

"Third, the school board will be wholly responsible for the hiring, firing, and offering contracts up to and including tenure to any teachers or other faculty."

Harry breaks in at this point.

"That said, if you send me people that are either unable or unwilling to do their jobs, I am not above banning them from the grounds. On a related note, Albus made some really poor choices in the staff. It would be a really good idea if you sorted out some of these clowns."

Sirius apparently has a coughing fit that happens to sound a lot like "Lockhart."

Amelia gives him an eyeball, and Harry waves her on.

"Fourth. During the winter and summer breaks the castle will be gone over by a team from Gringotts in an effort to get a handle eventually on what exactly is going on with the castle."

Amelia continues in her own words.

"That one was actually mine, so you can all stop looking at Harry. That castle is structurally sound, but it has a thousand years of enchantments from some of the strongest Wizards and Witches that have ever lived and innumerable children of all ages cluttering it up. It needs to be given a thorough cleaning and we need to find out what is there, what can stay, and what can go. For crying out loud, we haven't managed to keep a defense professor for a full year since the sixties, can anyone deny that such a thing is long overdue?"

Malfoy seems calm, but his voice carries more than a bit of an edge.

"Why Gringotts for all of this? Why not use the ministry's own personnel?"

Amelia cocks her head to one side, trying to determine if Malfoy is taking the piss. Apparently deciding that he is on the level for now, she responds.

"The ministry will be welcome to oversee the operation if the Minister would like to send somebody along, but the owner has a good relationship with Gringotts and as a neutral third party that is unaffiliated with the struggle between the houses, they are less likely to be bought by either the light or the dark within the Wizengamot."

Harry breaks in again.

"For what it's worth Lord Malfoy, I despise Dumbledore and his interpretation of the light at least as much as I do that dark mark on your arm. With my wife by my side here, we are pretty much prepared to be arseholes to everybody and let the pieces fall where they may."

Malfoy grunts in acceptance, though Alice believes that he is still hiding something. Amelia continues.

"There are a bunch of smaller additions that I won't go into for each of the above, but the last one that would concern the board is number five."

"Acts of a malicious nature that damage persons or property on school grounds will be dealt with by the department of magical law enforcement." She turns to the board members. "Now, I don't expect to get called out for every practical joke or errant bludger. But when there is legitimate malicious intent my department will be informed as soon as possible or when I do find out, heads will roll. We had a damned mountain troll in the castle last year, wrecked a bathroom and nearly killed three students. I found out about in eight months later. If anything like that happens again and the DMLE isn't informed immediately, somebody is going to be warming a cot in Azkaban for negligence that resulted in the near death of a minor. That carries a six month stay even if nobody gets hurt and I will damn well make it stick."

Augusta offers a nod, deciding that really, none of these requirements are unreasonable. In fact, most of them she might have thought were already standard.

With that, Harry and Alice take their leave with Sirius and head back to school. The next few weeks should be fairly interesting.

Author's Note.

I know, I know. I took a really long break. I did some writing and posted on another site for awhile. Might repost here if I start feeling like upping my numbers. :P

I know that this chapter is basically a time skip followed by a bunch of dialog, but it gets me to Thanksgiving for the next chapter, whenever that comes out.

Also, this story is about to leave canon so far behind as to be basically unrecognizable. Just so you know. About the only similarities left is that there will be a basilisk, probably a tri-wizard tournament, and horcruxes are a thing. Outside that... Yeah. Not a lot.